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Relief Plaque

A work made of terracotta.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of terracotta.

Date:

Early 1st century

Artist:

Roman

About this artwork

During the early Roman Empire, terra-cotta relief plaques were a popular form of interior decoration for houses, public baths, and tombs. The mold-made reliefs, which could be rapidly reproduced to create a decorative frieze, reflect an interest in older Greek styles. Here female temple attendants, whose costumes and hairstyles recall fashions worn at least 200 years earlier by the Greek occupants of southern Italy and Sicily, kneel before a tall incense burner, upon which they place an offering. The scene is bordered by an egg-and-dart pattern above and a lotus pattern below. The presence of four nailholes indicates that these panels
were likely affixed to a wall.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Roman

Title

Relief Plaque

Place

Rome (Object found in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1 CE–50 CE

Medium

terracotta

Dimensions

58.8 × 46.9 × 5 cm (23 1/4 × 18 3/8 × 2 in.)

Credit Line

Katherine K. Adler Memorial Fund; purchased with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Bro, the Classical Art Society, and Mr. and Mrs. Walter Alexander

Reference Number

1990.87

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/109509/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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